Curtain rod or similar article



March 2, 1948. 'e. M. KENNEY ETAL 2,436,811 CURTAIN ROD OR SIMILARARTICLE v r F iled Oct. 51, 1945.

Patented Mar. 2, 1948 CURTAIN Ron on SIMILAR ARTICLE George M. Kenney,Cranston, and John F. Cavanagh, Providence, R. 1., assignors to 'KenneyManufacturing Company, Cranston, R. I.,' a

1 corporation of Rhode Island Application October 31, 1945, Serial No.625,746 g 1944, which has become abandoned.

4 Claims. (Cl. 211105.2)

to means for facilitating In shirring the open hem of a curtain upon arod of this type, the rod sections are first separated and both curtainsshirred over the outer rod section, after which the rod sections "arere-assembled with one anothenadjusted to properly span the window orother opening, replaced on their supporting brackets, and the curtainsdrawn along the rod until properly draped.-

During manufacture, the end of the outer rod section into which theinner rod section telescopes is sometimes accidentally burred orotherwise roughened. This results in araw or sharp edge on which thefabric of the curtain has a tendency to catch and tear, particularlywhen the curtain has been freshly laundered and tightly pressed. Suchraw edge, moreover has a tendency to mutilate the lacquered finish ofthe inner rod section when the rod sections are telescoped into oneanother. Other manufacturingconsiderations which make it'diflicult 'toproperly shir the curtain on the rod'without tearing the fabric,

or without injuring the finish of the rod sections, are variations inthe size, gauge and temper of the rod sections. 7

It has been proposed heretofore to provide, as accessory equipment, aseparatepiece, known as a leader or threader. This leader'or threader isfirst inserted, either within or-overfthe open end of the outer rodsection. The curtain is then shirred'over it and, onto the outer rodsection, after which the leader orthreader is removed from said outer.rod section to permit the inner rod section to be inserted into saidouter rod section and the curtain properly adjusted along the rod. Theuse of such a leader or threader, however, is inconvenient and an extratask, particularly where a number of curtains have to be draped, andmoreover increases the cost of the rod. Being a separate, adjunct, ithas tobe stocked separately byv the trade, and is apt to be misplaced orlost by the housewife.

It has also been proposed to construct the inner rod section as anintegral leader or threader byltapering its open end to function assuch. Thisvexp'edient likewise :increases the manufacturing cost of therod. Moreover, unless the edges of the tapered portion of the inner rodsection and the adjacent edges of the outer rod section are perfectlysmooth and remain so in service, the use of such a device actuallyincreases the danger of the curtains catching and becoming torn. An-

other disadvantage is that the curtain must first be shirred onto theinner rod section and after-l wards transferred, onto the.,.outer rodsection. During such, transfer the curtain is in no way protectedagainst becoming caught and torn.

, 2 v Inasmuch as 'rods'of the type herein involved are sold largely ona price basis, the cost of the above-described leader or threader,whether it be a separate adjunct or be integrally formed in the courseof manufacturing the inner rod section, is an item of cost "which therod manufacturer has to take into consideration'i'ri fixing the sellingprice of his rod. e

' The main object of our present invention is to provide a leader orthreader which will avoid the disadvantages of theseprior artexpedients, as 'well'as offer advantages of itsown which cannot be hadwith the prior art' devices.

Other objects and advantages will appear as guard protects the curtainfrom damage by being caught or torn by any burr or raw edge which mayexist at this end of the outer rod section as a result of its method-ofmanufacture, and protects the finish of the inner rod section from beingdamaged'by such raw edge when said inner rod section'is telescoped intothe outer rod section. Our guard also reinforces the outer rod sectionin the area where it is most likely to becomebent or distorted, as wellas constituting a decorative and distinctive embellishment for the rod.

We construct our guard as-a continuous band or loop completelyencircling the open end of the outer rod section, and permanently attachit in position during the process of-manufacturing the outer rod sectionin any suitable manner, as by swaging. Y

Ourguard is U-shaped in; cross section and presents a smooth surface tothe curtain fabric as the curtain is shirred thereover. It may be givenany desired surface pattern or configuration whichmay either correspondto, or harmonize with, the pattern and configuration of the 'rod.Preferably'our guard is made of metal, but

If made of plastic or equivalent material, it may be colored to contrastwith the rod..

Ou'r guard is applicable to'telescopic rods which are either of C-shap'eor of inverted U-shape in cross section. When applied' to a C-shape rod,it bridges the space'zbetween the oppositely turned back flangescof theouter rod section and strengthens and stiflens the rod in this area.

:When applied-to a U-shap'earod, it bridges the space between theinwardlyand upwardly exthe weight of the curtain when the rod sectionsare extended to substantially their limit, as when fitted to a very widewindow opening.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein we have disclosed preferredembodiments of our invention:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a C-shaped telescopic curtain rodequipped with our guard. Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspectiveview of the open end of the outer rod section of the rod of Fig. 1, andas seen from the back, particularly showing our guard, the same beingshown as having a single leading edge only.

tending flanges 22 at the open bottom side of the rod.

Various other modification in application, design and materials mayobviously be resorted to within the spirit andscope of our invention asdefined by the appended claims.

.We claim:

1. A telescopic curtain rod, comprising inner and outer rod. sections,said outer rod section having a continuous frontwall and spacedlongitudinally extending inturned top and bottom back flanges, the innerend of said front wall being convex in side elevation and projectingFigure 3 is view similar to Figure 2, but showing a modified form of ourguard in which both edges thereof are constructed as leading edges.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view of a telescopic rod of inverted U-shapeequipped with our guard. Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig.2. Referring to Figures 1 to 3, inclusive, wherein we have illustratedour invention as applied to a C-shape telescopic curtain rod, we havedesignated at i0 and II, respectively, the inner and outer section ofsuch a rod. Each rod section presents a continuous flat front wall l2and spaced longitudinally aligned top and bottom back flanges l3 and M,respectively.

In manufacturing the outer rod section, it may be cut off square at itsopen end, or it may be so cut as to leave part of the front wallextending as a convexity or rounded projection, as indicated by thedotted line leader of numeral 15 in Figure 2'. In either case, as aresult of the is apt to be burred or roughened, and to cover such rawedge, we swage or otherwise permanently assemble to the open end of theouter rod section a guard or shield it of any desired material. Guard I6is constructed as a relatively- .manufacturing methods employed, suchopen end catching surface to the curtain fabric as it is shirredthereover, as well as protecting the finish of the inner rod sectionfrom being damaged when the two sections are telescopically fittedtogether. It also reinforces said rod section and embellishes theappearance of the rod as a whole. The width, thickness, and design ofguard l6 may be varied as desired.

At least one wall of the guard is formed as a leading edge to facilitateshirring of the curtain. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the front edge ofthe guard is extended as a convexity or rounded projection l1constituting a single leading edge.

In the modification of Figure 3, both the front and back walls of theguard are extended as convexities or rounded projections l8 and I9constituting double leading edges.

Referring to Figure 4, wherein we have illustrated the application ofour guard to a rod of inverted -U-shape cross section, the outer section20, only of such a rod is shown, and guard 2| is swaged, or otherwisepermanently assembled to the open end of said rod section; As clearlyappears in said figure, guard 2 I- completely encircles the open end ofsaid rod section and bridges the 7 centrally beyond the terminal planeof the adjacent flange ends to facilitate shirring of the curtain fabricover said outer rod section, and a guard or shield permanently fixed tothe outer rod section exteriorly thereof, said guard or shield beingcontinuous as viewed in end elevation and externally smooth and U-shapedin cross-section and extending across the space between said backflanges and completely around and embracing the inner end of said outerrod section so as to reinforce and stiffen the inner end of said outerrod section, said guard or shield having a convex front edge portionconforming in shape to and engaged over the convex inner end of thefront wall of said outer rod section to facilitate entering of saidouter rod section into, and its passage through, a rod accommodatingpocket in the heading of a curtain.

2. A telescopic curtain rod comprising inner and outer rod sections, anda guard of U-shape in cross section and continuous in end elevationembracing the inner end of said outer rod section and permanentlyassembled therewith, said guard having a front end extension the leadingedge of which is convexly rounded both transversely and as viewed inside elevation to facilitate entering of the outer rod section into, andits passage through, a rod accommodating pocket in the heading of acurtain.

3. A telescopic curtain rod comprising inner and outer rod sections eachhaving substantially flat front and rear walls, and a guard of U-shapein cross section and continuous in end elevation embracing the inner endof said outer rod section and permanently assembled therewith, saidguard including substantially flat front and rear walls the leading edgeof at least one of which is convexly rounded both transversely and asviewed in side elevation to facilitate entering of the outer rod sectioninto, and its passage through, a rod accommodating pocket in the headingof a curtain.

4. A curtain rod as set forth in claim 3 in which the leading edges ofboth the front and the rear walls of the guard are convexly rounded bothtransversely and as viewed in side elevation to facilitate entering ofthe outer rod section into, and its passage. through, a rodaccommodating pocket in the heading of a curtain.

' GEORGE M. KENNEY.

JOHN F. CAVANAGI-I.

REFERENCES CITED The following references arev of record in the file ofthispatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,062,478 Kroder Ma 20, 19132,237,406 Boye Apr. 8, 1941 1,089,550 Hannon et a1. .Mar. 10, 1914

